Traffic fine for cycling on the N1 freeway - Woodstock cycle path frustration

[117]

On 3/5/2026 at 1:15 AM, W Smith said:

Have you ever appeared in a criminal court? Try convincing a sullen magistrate that "officials handing out soft fines rather than addressing the route cause ...." is a pipe dream. You may just rise the ire of the magistrate who has to listen daily to flimsy arguments dressed up as defences.

Im a bit late to the game, so forgive the late reply. 

Yes, Ive been there. The onus is actually on the prosecutor to present the evidence first and foremost. The magistrate gets the moer in with the prosecuting team on a regular basis for all the delays, lack of evidence etc. So its actually in your favour to go to court for this kind of a charge
You as the accused, just need to be in court and watch the circus unfold. The magistrate will not get upset with you at all if you are present, presentable, respectful and always on time. 

Can you imagine the can of worms it will will open when the prosecutor is tasked to get video footage of the event and they need to actually prove its you in the said video... Good luck with that 

 

 

 

 

[Zebra]

On 3/4/2026 at 9:37 PM, Zebra said:

(I am willing to ASSIST with talking to authorities about POTENTIALLY opening up a cycle ‘section’ to bypass the ‘notorious’ section, but do not want to head this up…)

Cheers

Chris

As per my earlier post, I am ready/able to help, @thejoshswin, give me a call on 072 211 7725, and let's meet up,

...and I will see if we can get to meet with Dave Bellairs, who can THEN possibly get us 'in' to see Alan Winde, worth a shot;

my input will be 'need', as I have commuted that route for a good number of years, until it was unsafe, and then I HAD to find an alternative, so I am an 'interested & affected' party, as it were.

Cheers, Chris

[Zebra]

Update: met with Josh - we had a good planning chat, about possible next steps...

Between us, we will collect names of people who COMMUTE (firstly) and ride for training (secondly) both INBOUND to CT, and OUTBOUND, to get a better idea of where affected riders START their journeys, etc. WHO IS AFFECTED.

Then, we will identify the SIZE of the problem, meaning that we will map out the affected portion  AS A PERCENTAGE of the total West Coast cycle path, to illustrate that a SMALL portion is holding the entire cycle path 'to ransom'. WHAT PORTION OF THE CYCLE PATH IS AFFECTED, IN DISTANCE.

We will likely build up a small data-base detailing actual incidents that have occurred on that part of the cycle path... THE SCALE OF THE PROBLEM, BY INCIDENT.

We will likely approach Dave Bellairs, THEN Premier Alan Winde, and then poss. John Maythem/ Afternoon Drive Show, who interviewed the Premier after him being robbed. WHO CAN POTENTIALLY ASSIST, AND FURTHER PULICIZING HOW O-L-D THIS SITUATION IS.

Josh will likely start an EXCEL spreadsheet with names of rider who cycle in-bound, who are affected, with contact details in case authorities wish to verify scale of the problem.

(I will try and do same for OUTBOUND cyclists - their is a reason for wanting 2 different groups...)

Josh will likely get the OWNER of City Rock Climbing Gym - his employer - to make high-level contact, explaining that the City Rock CUSTOMERS wish to RIDE - not drive - to the Gym, from CT, and at least 2 City Rock employees cannot use the cycle lane, but they both wish to...

This goes back AT LEAST to June 2019 (!), when the Cape Town Cycle Tour advised riders to AVOID this section of cycle path. https://www.facebook.com/cycletour/posts/warning-to-all-cyclists-to-please-avoid-this-route/2827002640706579/

NOTE: PLEASE DO NOT WINGE, OR COMPLAIN THAT NOTHING CAN/WILL BE DONE - BE PART OF THE SOLUTION - LETS TRY AND FIX THIS!

CONSTRUCTIVE SUGGESTIONS WELCOME!

Chris

Edited March 10 by Zebra
clarity

[ChrisF]

@Hairy might still have contact details of the original large group of commuters ....

[Zebra]

@Hairy as per above, any info you can share?
thanks @ChrisF

[Jordan A]

I cycle from the Atlantic seaboard to Paarden Eiland (to the same gym) 3-4 afternoons/evenings a week, via the harbour. I've got membership at the RCYC -- R1.7k pa for my age -- pretty much just for the harbour access.

It's a privilege to be able to brave the wind far from traffic and dodgies, but it's a shambles to have to avoid the cycle lane to commute safely. Would love to get involved!

[Zebra]

26 minutes ago, Jordan A said:

... but it's a shambles to have to avoid the cycle lane to commute safely. Would love to get involved!

noted, and thanks, we may ask for some assistance in the coming weeks...

Chris (and Joshua).

[thejoshswin]

Quote

Hi *.....*

I trust you are well today ! 

I feel quite passionate about somehow making the Woodstock cycle path between town and Paarden Eiland safe to use again, so I was wondering if you had any advice for me on pursuing this matter, and secondly I wanted to ask for your permission to run with this in the interests of CityROCK.

We have quite a few regular members (*....* is an example) as well as many staff (including myself) who would like to cycle or e-bike both to and from CityROCK and live in town but can't due to the unsafe condition a small section of the cycle lane is currently in. 

So I believe changing this would be a big benefit to the CityROCK community and we can also encourage more members to cycle to the gym ( we already have a fair amount who are keen commuter cyclists), perhaps even form some sort of Whatsapp commuter cycling group that people can organise to cycle this section together at certain times for extra safety. 

I just met with a guy who shares my passion for making the cycle lane safe - he owns Flying Brick motorcycles down the road from us. He is also keen to tackle this issue and has given me Dave's (CT Cycle tour organiser) contact details, with the hope we can eventually meet with Alan Winde or the mayor Geordin-Hill to discuss a proposal. I'm not sure if you perhaps know Dave? 

We have already brainstormed a few ideas which we believe are realistic, and we plan to put together a list of people perhaps with signatures and IDs who are supporters of this and who would use the path frequently for cycle commuting and secondly for recreational cycling. 

We also plan on approaching John Maytham at CapeTalk podcast and some radio stations to see if they will potentially run the story. 

I understand you are probably quite busy so I appreciate you hearing me out on this,  I think cycling, climbing and exercise in general can improve people's lives in a big way and while it seems like there are bigger issues out there, I think having access to safe commuting in the city can in the long term solve some of the bigger issues. 

Have a great day !

This is an email I have sent to my employer at CityROCK - had a great chat with him -  he is going to send me a few more contact details of people in the city I can contact. He is also on the committee at PPA and mentioned that certain laws are in the process of being changed to make cycling part of urban mobility which hopefully means it will be taken more seriously by government in the future. So that is exciting !

I will be compiling a list of everyone that uses the cycle path and would like to have it safe to use for commuting and sport cycling - if you are interested in being a part of this please fill in this Google form - https://forms.gle/LkrXWig89RcuPhKx9 or shoot me an email at thejoshswin@gmail.com

Edited March 11 by thejoshswin
Added a Google Form

[Rapunzel]

5 hours ago, Jordan A said:

I cycle from the Atlantic seaboard to Paarden Eiland (to the same gym) 3-4 afternoons/evenings a week, via the harbour. I've got membership at the RCYC -- R1.7k pa for my age -- pretty much just for the harbour access.

It's a privilege to be able to brave the wind far from traffic and dodgies, but it's a shambles to have to avoid the cycle lane to commute safely. Would love to get involved!

Imagine if RCYC had a "Social" membership which could grant holders access to enter the harbour but not make use of any of their facilities!

[thejoshswin]

I've also created a Whatsapp group backed by CityROCK with the hope that people can organize to commute or ride as a group through the unsafe section - anyone can join at this link https://chat.whatsapp.com/CcS2zEoA8DqGOxrFAgy1tZ?mode=gi_t

 

 

[Andreas_187]

Cycling through the harbour is not an option. It is full of trucks who are busy working and is criss-crossed with numerous railway lines. There are too many dumb cyclists for this ever to be an option. They will be riding 4 abreast and blowing through all the stop signs in no time.

I would like to see a lane between the harbour fence and the 'highway'. I would primarily just like to get off the highway 

[Zebra]

Request - JOSHUA’s form take just FIVE minutes to fill in; if you are avoiding the Woodstock Cycle Lane for A-N-Y reason, please give up 5 minutes of your life for this important initiative.

Chris (and Joshua).

[Zebra]

4 hours ago, Andreas_187 said:

Cycling through the harbour is not an option. It is full of trucks who are busy working and is criss-crossed with numerous railway lines. There are too many dumb cyclists for this ever to be an option. They will be riding 4 abreast and blowing through all the stop signs in no time.

I would like to see a lane between the harbour fence and the 'highway'. I would primarily just like to get off the highway 

Agree partly with you - the idea is not on the Harbour ROAD, but on a lane through the Harbour, and we are identifying a potential route IN CASE we (at least) get a hearing.

(there is actually a nice, well-defined Twee-spoor track in exactly the spot you mention, for most/much of the distance; Transnet INSPECT the fence minimum 2x daily on a Quad bike, I have ridden this (gravel bike) a good few times, and it has ‘potential’ to be developed, etc. Tough to deal with Transnet, but worth a shot…

thanks for your input!
Chris

Edited March 12 by Zebra

[Shebeen]

11 minutes ago, Zebra said:

Agree partly with you - the idea is not on the Harbour ROAD, but on a lane through the Harbour, and we are identifying a potential route IN CASE we (at least) get a hearing.

(there is actually a nice, well-defined Twee-spoor track in exactly the spot you mention, for most/much of the distance; Transnet INSPECT the fence minimum 2x daily on a Quad bike, I have ridden this (gravel bike) a good few times, and it has ‘potential’ to be developed, etc. Tough to deal with Transnet, but worth a shot…

thanks for your input!
Chris

I'd be very surprised if TNPA grants cyclists access to commute through the harbour, but I guess you can always try.

[Zebra]

@Shebeen, yup, better to try, and fail, than, well, you know…! 🗯️

[Andreas_187]

I would be super happy with a cycle path between the harbour fence and the highway. I'm more worried about being hit by a car at high speed than being robbed.